Ironing accessory



May 1 1956 R. a. DRUMMOND IRONING ACCESSORY Filed Jan. 15, 1955 PON/:ILD

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nited States IRONING ACCESSORY Ronald B. Drummond, Capistrano Beach, Calif.

Application January 13, 1955, Serial No. 481,613

1 Claim. (Cl.`3897) arent electrically operated iron that permitted the application of uniform pressure and substantially the same degree of heat to fabrics during ironing thereof. Subsequently, a further advance was achieved in ironing equipment when a steam generating unit was incorporated therein, which permitted pressing or ironing of all types with the complete assurance that the fabrics so worked on would at all times be subjected to the desired uniform moisture and heat.

Although the steam iron in general provides operational advantages previously unobtainablc, it has one inherent disadvantage in that an undesirable sheen is imparted to many hard finish worsted fabrics when subjected to frictional pressing thereby. The primary purpose in devising the present invention is to provide a sheath of heat-resistant sheet material which may be removably mounted on a steam iron and cover the pressing surface thereof, whereby the tendency of the iron to impart a glossy sheen to fabrics during the pressing thereof is minimized.

A major object of the invention is to provide a light weight sheath of sheet material that is sufficiently porous as to permit steam to pass therethrough, and of such physical characteristics as to not be adversely aifected due to the relatively high temperatures encountered during the ironing operation.

Another object of the invention is to supply a sheath of material for a steam iron that can be easily mounted on the iron to conform to the cloth contacting portion thereof, and one that will not impart a shiny appearance to the cloth being ironed when recprocated in contact therewith.

A still further object of the invention is to provide sheath designs that permit my invention to be used with any one of the steam irons currently manufactured and sold on a commercial basis.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred and certain alternate forms thereof, and from the drawing illustrating that form in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a steam iron with one of my sheaths removably positioned thereon.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of the sheath when removably disposed on the forward portion of a steam iron, and taken on the line 2--2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a plan view of one form of sheath in which the forward portion thereof is defined by a single vertically disposed dart, `and `the rearward portion by two laterally separated darts;

Figure 4 is a plan view of another form of sheaththat conforms to the contour of an iron, but without the use of darts;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a sheath that is particularly adapted for use with irons having a water conducting pipe projecting from the side thereof;

j Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of the binding in which a draw string is mounted and taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

p Figure 7 is a perspective `view of another form of sheath thats particularly adapted for use on steam irons having a large water holding reservoir mounted on the rearward portion thereof; and t p Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternate form of binding for use in mounting a draw string in any one of my steam iron sheaths.-

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that any one of my sheaths, `devoted generally by the letter S, is removably mounted on the body B of a steam iron T in the position shown in Figure l by the use of a draw string D. The body B of the steam iron. is provided with an inverted U-shaped handle H as is common with such devices. In shape,`the` body has a pointed upwardly extending forward edge 10 from which curved sidewalls of well known configuration extend rearwardly to terminate in a transverse end wall (not shown). A

The sheet material from which sheath S is fabricated may be any one of a number of woven materials, providing such material is capable of withstanding the ternperature of steam as discharged from the iron, and is sufciently porous to permitpassage of the steam therethrough without creating any appreciable back pressure thereof. One fabric particularly well adapted for this purpose is muslin, and if proper precautions are taken so as not to subject it to the melting point thereof, sheet nylon may also `be utilized. ln addition, such materials as asbestos cloth, if of finely woven texture, may be ernployed in the fabrication of sheath S, aswell as siliconetreated fabrics, and fibre glass cloth.

Thatform of the invention shown in Figures 2 and 3, referred to specifically by numeral 12, comprises a generally oval piece of suitable sheet materialwhich is preformed to loosely fit body/3?' by means of an vupwardly extending dart 14 stitched in the forward portion of the sheath, and two laterally separated upwardly extending darts 16 and 1S sewnin the rearward portion thereof. Darts 16 and 13 are spaced apart a sufficient distance to be disposed on the upwardly extending junction lines defined by the sides and rear wali of body B.

rlChe drawstring D is movably mounted within the confines of a length of woven tape 2d, or other suitable material that is disposed to define an elongate confined space that extends practically the entire length of the upper edge of the sheath. Tape 2i) has one edge portion aixed p to the upper edge portion of sheet material i4 by stitching 2i, and the free edge of the tape affixed to the inwardly disposed surface of the material by stitching 22 as shown in Figure 6. The tape 2i) starts at a point 24 on sheet material lli and terminates at a point Z6 to define an opening 23 rom which the free ends of the draw string project. By tightening the draw strings the sheet material 12 is held in a conforming position on the body B as may be seen in Figures l and 2.

in the interest of economy of manufacture, the tape 20 may be disposed to define an inverted U-shaped cross section as shown in Figure S, with the lower edge portions of the tape being affixed to opposite sides of the upper portion of sheet 12 by single stitching 27. An outlet 29 through which the loose ends of draw strings D the same success as thev first `described form. In Isheath 30, suitable sheet material 32 is cut in substantially the same shape as the bottom of the body B on which it is to be mounted. However, the dimensions of sheet 32 are increased to the extent that an encircling area 34 of sheet material is providedrto extend upwardly on the pointed forward edge of the body B, the sidewalls, and the iiat end wall thereof. This area 34 is shown in Figure 4 and exists between the phantom line 36 andthe outer edge of the sheet material.v `In this form of the invention, the draw string D may be removably held in position thereon by either of the means previously described in detail.

Another form 37 of the invention is shown in Figure and is identical with the formshown in Figure 4 with the exception that a slit 38 is formed in one of the rearward side portions thereof to permit a pipe (not shown) provided on certain makes of steam irons to extend outwardly therethrough. The edges of slit 38 are bound at 40 as may be seen in Figure 5 to prevent raveling of the sheet material.

A further version 41 of my sheath is shown in Figure 7, in which it will be seen Vthat a sheet 42 of suitable maF terial is provided, that is of the same configuration shown in Figure 4, but with all the material rearwardly of phantom line 44 of that form removed therefrom. The sheath 41 is particularly adapted for mounting on those steam irons that have a water receptacle (not shown) mounted on the rearward portion thereof.

The use and operation of the invention are extremely simple. The sheath S is selected for the particular type of steam iron that the user owns or proposes to use, and the sheath then mounted thereon as has been previously described in detail. The draw string D then has the free ends drawn together and tied in the manner shown in Figure l, to hold the sheath in a position to cover the cloth contacting portion of body B. After this operation has been completed, the iron is used in a conventional manner. It will be apparent from the previous description that the sheath S may be easily and quickly removed fromthe body B- when not required.

Although the form of steam iron sheathes herein shown and described are fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that I do not mean to be limited to the details of construction herein shown and described other than as defined in the appended claim.

The invention claimed is:

A sheath for use with a steam iron that minimizes the tendency of said iron to impart a glossy sheen to fabrics when brought into pressing contact therewith, that consists of: a pliable sheet of fabric material capable of withstanding the temperature of steam discharged from said iron, yet which material is sufciently porous to permit passage of said steam therethrough, said material being initially of a generally oval configuration and having at one end thereof along its major axis a first dart stitched inwardly from the edge thereof to conform to the forward edge of said iron and having at the other end thereof second and third darts disposed on opposite sides of the major axis thereof stitched inwardly to conform to the rear end of said iron so that a part of said sheet of material defines a at, substantially triangular, base portion that extends completely over the pressing surface of said iron and so that the remainder of said sheet of material extends upwardly over the sides thereof in a substantially conforming position around a portion of the body of said iron, said material havingl a surface of such physical characteristics that it does not impart a glossy finish to the fabric being pressed when brought into frictional contact therewith; an elongate tape, the two edges of which are stitched to said sheet of material substantially along the entire edge thereof to deine a confined space, access to which is available between the ends of said tape; and a drawstring that movably extends throughout said confined space with the free ends of said drawstring extending outwardly from said space between the ends of said tape, said drawstring ends being adapted to be tied together to securely maintain said sheath in conforming position on said steam iron.

Y References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

